Janice B. AA Female

Janice B. AA Female

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? Here, Janice B. shares exactly what pushed her to that turning point, speaking to a room of women at a retreat with raw honesty, a bit of humour, and a lot of courage. Janice starts with her early life in an abusive Irish household in Toledo, marked by fear, violence and a promise to herself at 12 that she’d leave at 18.

She talks about two difficult marriages, prescription drug use, heavy drinking, and how she went from a quarter of a million dollars and security to being homeless, jobless and dependent on her sons for help. A key thread is the quiet influence of a workmate, Nikki, a proudly recovering alcoholic whose steady kindness chipped away at Janice’s denial.

One simple line – “Janice, you’re a great lady” – sent her into the loo in tears and planted a seed that you might recognise from your own story. Her turning point comes after a terrifying blackout drink-driving episode: “I stopped in the middle of my living room and put my arms up. And I said, okay, I give up. I just give up.

I can't do this alone anymore.” From there, she walks into AA with five hours’ sobriety, leaves with a 24‑hour coin and phone numbers, and begins building a new life around meetings, a sponsor and a growing “sobriety family”. Janice doesn’t pretend sobriety makes life easy.

She talks candidly about lung cancer, major surgery, and later a brutal attack and court case – and how she stayed sober through all of it by handing things to her higher power, staying close to AA and refusing to drink no matter what. Her message is clear and challenging: be an example, because someone might be watching you the way she once watched Nikki. What kind of example do you want your sobriety to be?